By: Keaton Marcus

DISCLAIMER: IF YOU ARE UNDER THE AGE OF 13, YOU SHOULD ASK YOUR PARENTS IF YOU ARE ALLOWED, IF THEY SAY NO…IT MEANS NO!

Adam Robitel directs "Escape Room", a decent, but a ridiculous popcorn flick based on fun pastime; The premise is interesting, if simple-minded and foolish, and the film never really takes control of it, which is a little irritating. However, the remainder of the film is fun and extremely agile, standing at a run-time of just 1hr 40 minutes; The performances are solid if audiences can forgive the mind-numbing script, and the low-budget set-pieces are creative and entertaining to watch, pretty much the only praise you can give for a film literally called "Escape Room". The cliffhanger ending is unneeded, and while a sequel could be intriguing, I am betting the execution will be atrocious, the storytelling and plotting around the characters are amateurish, as expected. Pretty much, if a group of teens is looking for a couple of scares, "Escape Room" could be suitable, not to promise any surprises. The film follows the story of six strangers, a shy Physics student named Zoey, a former soldier called Amanda, a truck driver named Mike, escape room enthusiast Danny, grocery store packer Ben and corporate hot-shot Jason Walker, who each receive a mysterious cube, containing a ticket for Minos' most immersive escape room yet. The six-meet up at Minos only to find out that the rooms are no games, and they must solve the complicated puzzles before the time runs out.

There are six rooms, made for the six strangers entering the "competition"; Having similar set-ups to "Saw", but sporting significantly less gore, "Escape Room" plays like a low-budget "Hunger Games", that never really enters the torture porn genre. The 9M cost immediately proves you do not need expensive visual effects to create creepy atmospherics, as each of the rooms has their own purpose, and while the film lacks any intelligence, it is still hysterically funny to watch a bunch of different people thrown into a horror fest. There are more action sequences than jump scares, making it less of a horror pic and more of a thriller, but there are some effective scares, and moments of suspense--this is not enough to save the lack of substance. The first room happens to be the lobby--where the pillars and the ceiling turn into a literal oven, almost burning them alive; The second death trap is the opposite and takes place in a frozen wasteland, threatening to kill the characters from hypothermia--eventually, "some" make it out and exit to the third room, which happens to be an upside-down pull room, the best of the bunch, and very inventive, full of surprises; The remaining characters exit to the fourth room which is a doctor's office where they must solve the puzzle before the time runs out and the room is filled with poison gas. The last two rooms are a black-and-white stained place and a study, both of which are quick, and they never get much depth. Overall, however, it was still entertaining to watch the film, and the creepy set-up is more than enough for a really average movie.

The cast is refreshingly unfamiliar, keeping the budget low; the company consists of actresses Taylor Russel and Deborah Ann Woll, and actors Jay Ellis, Nik Dodani, Tyler Labine and Logan Miller; The performances struggle to come out against the fast-paced movie, and even the strongest, who principally come from the two females, Russel ("Lost in Space") and Woll ("Daredevil") who barely steal a scene, disappointingly. The males are stricken from the poor scripting by Bragi F. Schut who phones it on the screenplay, as expected.

The final verdict is: "Escape Room" features a couple of noteworthy performances, and has a few scares, along with signs of creativity, but the poor scripting, the ridiculous plot and the unnecessary set up for a sequel makes the film a hit-or-miss with audiences...$KIP IT

Box Office Info:

Opening: 18.2M

Domestic Total: 57M

Worldwide Total: 155.7M